Minnesota makes the signed certification block mandatory on an architect's documents and treats the seal as optional. The block holds the prescribed architect certification sentence, your signature, your typed or printed name, the date and your license number. If you choose to use a seal, it shows your name and the legend "licensed architect." This page covers the block, the seal, devices, electronic signing and license lapse.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subds. 2 and 3 and the Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience, and Interior Design. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Certification block | Required. It carries the prescribed certification sentence for architects, then your signature, your name in type or print, the date and your license number. | Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subds. 2 and 3 |
| Seal | Optional. When you use one, its face shows your name and the words licensed architect. | Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subds. 2 and 3 |
| License number | Listed as part of the certification block, not as an item on the seal face. | Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subds. 2 and 3 |
| Who signs | You, for your own work, or you as the architect who directly supervised the person who prepared it. | Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 3 |
| What goes with the signature | The certification, your license number and the date on which you signed. | Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 3 |
| Covered documents | Any plan, drawing, specification or report, and any other document, produced under sections 326.02 through 326.15. | Minn. Stat. §§ 326.12, subd. 3 and 326.03, subd. 2 |
| Size and shape | Neither is set. No figure is given in the statute or in the seal rule, and the board has not published one. | Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 2 |
| Devices | The regular seal, or in its place a rubber stamp copy on tracings used for printing and on paper the regular seal would damage. | Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subds. 2 and 3 |
| Electronic certification | The certification and signature may be electronic, facsimile or digital. Electronic is defined by cross-reference to Minn. Stat. § 325L.02, paragraph (h). | Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 1 |
| Expired, revoked or suspended license | Stamping or sealing any document is unlawful until the license is renewed or reissued. | Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 2 |
For the same rule in the other 53 jurisdictions, read architect seal requirements by state. The seal follows registration; the degree, experience and exam routes that lead to a Minnesota license are compared in how to become a licensed architect.
What does Minnesota require on every architect's signed document?
A certification block. It opens with the certification sentence prescribed for architects and is followed by your signature, your name typed or printed, the date and your license number. The block is the required part; a seal is an addition you may choose.
This page does not reprint the certification sentence. It is fixed wording, so copy it from the Minnesota rule text when you build a title block template or a stamp for the block, and compare it word for word before the first set goes out. Our post on Minnesota architect stamp requirements covers the same ground from the buyer's side.
What appears on the optional Minnesota architect seal?
Two items: your name and the legend licensed architect. Minnesota's element list places your license number in the certification block, alongside the signature and date, rather than on the face of the seal.
Because the seal is optional, a sheet without one is not short of anything the law demands. A sheet without the certification block is. If you like the look of a seal on your title block, our gallery of Minnesota architect stamp designs shows how the name and legend can be arranged.
Which Minnesota documents take the certification?
Plans, drawings, specifications and reports, along with other documents prepared under Minnesota Statutes sections 326.02 through 326.15. The coverage rests on section 326.12, subdivision 3, read with section 326.03, subdivision 2.
In practice, add the block to the templates for each of those document types, so it is already in place when a drawing, specification or report is issued instead of being added by hand at the last minute.
Whose signature goes in the block, and what must sit beside it?
Yours, either on work you prepared or on work prepared under your direct supervision as the responsible architect. It must come with the certification, your license number and the date you signed.
Direct supervision is what allows you to sign a sheet a colleague drew. The date to record is the day your signature goes on the document, so a block signed on Friday for a set issued on Monday carries Friday's date.
Does Minnesota set a size or shape for the seal?
No. Neither Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 2 nor Minn. R. 1800.4300 gives a dimension, and the board has not published one. Both provisions were read in full for this page, along with Minn. R. 1800.4200.
That makes size a practical decision. Choose one that keeps your name and the legend legible at the scale of your smallest sheet and that sits beside the certification block without crowding it. Our comparison of architect stamp options in Minnesota lays out the formats side by side.
Can a Minnesota architect use an embosser or a rubber stamp?
Yes. The permitted devices are an embosser and a rubber stamp. The statute treats a regular seal as the default and lets a rubber stamp facsimile take its place on tracings that prints will be made from, and on paper the regular seal would damage.
The signature side has its own allowance. Under Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 3, a stamp, a printed signature or an electronically created signature carries the same force as one signed by hand, provided it accurately depicts your actual signature.
Can the certification and signature be electronic?
Yes. Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 1 lets the certification and signature be electronic, facsimile or digital. The meaning of electronic comes from Minn. Stat. § 325L.02, paragraph (h), which is the definition in Minnesota's Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.
That cross-reference is to a general electronic transactions law, not to a standard written for the design professions. Read the paragraph (h) definition before you settle on a signing tool, since it is the test your electronic signature is measured against.
What happens to your seal when a Minnesota license lapses?
You may use the seal only while your license is unrevoked, unexpired and unsuspended. Once it has expired or been revoked or suspended, stamping or sealing any document is unlawful until the license is renewed or reissued.
Renewal or reissue is what restores the right. Keep your renewal date ahead of your project calendar, because a set stamped the day after expiration falls inside the prohibition even if the drawings were finished weeks earlier.
What should you send us when you order?
Your name exactly as licensed and your choice of device. The seal face needs only your name and the legend licensed architect, so there is no number, date or location to supply for it.
If you also plan to apply the certification block with a stamp, have the prescribed sentence from the rule text and your license number ready. Our walkthrough on getting a Minnesota architect seal explains the order steps.
How do you check a Minnesota impression before first use?
Make a test impression on the paper you issue and read the name and legend against your license. Then fill in a certification block beside it with your signature, printed name, license number and date, and confirm both read cleanly on a copy.
If you will use a rubber stamp on tracings, test it on tracing stock as well, since that is one of the two uses the statute names for the stamp. Keep the test sheet with your license records.
For the geologist side of practice in Minnesota, read what a Minnesota geologist seal requires.
Frequently asked questions
Can I issue Minnesota drawings with no seal at all?
Yes, as far as the seal is concerned. It is optional in Minnesota. You still need the certification block: the prescribed sentence, then your signature, your name in type or print, your license number and the date.
Should my license number go on the seal?
Minnesota's element list puts the number in the certification block, not on the seal. The seal items listed are your name and the licensed architect legend.
Is a rubber stamp of my signature as good as signing by hand?
It can be. Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 3 treats a stamped, printed or electronically created signature as equal to one signed by hand, provided it is an accurate depiction of your real signature.
Can I seal a set while my renewal is still being processed?
Not once the license has expired. Stamping or sealing after expiration is unlawful until the license is renewed or reissued, so renew before the expiration date.
Does a supervising architect date the block with the drawing date?
No. The date in the block is the day you put your signature on it, whether you prepared the document yourself or it was prepared under your direct supervision.
When you are ready, choose a seal or stamp from our Minnesota stamps and seals collection and send your name exactly as it appears on your license.
